City Life
by Solareon
Summary: After his parents get a divorce, Carl leaves Kings County with his dad and moves to Atlanta. Now living in the big city, father and son must learn to adjust to a new way of life. This is Carl and Rick story, but there will Carl/Beth and Rick/Michonne in it as well, plus many guest stars from the TV show, Comics, and video games.
1. A Fresh Start

**Summary**: _After his parents get a divorce, Carl leaves Kings County with his dad and moves to Atlanta. Now living in the big city, father and son must learn to adjust to a new way of living. _

**Author's Notes:** _This is a extrean=me AU, there will be no walkers, no end of the world, just normal life...kind of normal. This is Carl and Rick story, so the focus will be mostly on them, but I plan to have many guest stars from the TV show, Comics, and video games, I think to have well liked story in this fandom ya have to have a Dixon in it too lol. The pairings will be Rick/Michonne and Carl/Beth, might take a while, but that's how it'll end up. _

**Disclaimer**: _The walking Dead and all its characters belongs to Robert Kirkman, AMC, Telltale Games and whoever else I'm forgetting, I make no profit, I only some times get reviews!_

**Warning**_: Rated T for language, violence, and many other stuff and things. Rating may go up._

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Chapter 1: A fresh Start

There are many things that are always a constant in life, one of those things is Change. For better or worse, change has, and always will, be a defining factor in a person's existence. Now you have to understand, Change and destiny are not the same thing; destiny tells you what you will become, while change gives you an opportunity to become something. Whether or not you _want_ to take that opportunity is up to you.

Change can be good sometimes, like getting a promotion at work, or being able to make a fresh start for yourself and your family, other times in can be bad, like getting a divorce and having to leave everything you've ever known behind.

The Grimes men were going though both at the moment.

A father and son drove in silence, both lost in their own worlds, it had been like this for some time now, it wasn't that one of them was ignoring the other, it was just that they both were trying to come to terms with their changing lives. It just so happens that both father and son had the same way of dealing with their problems, and that was closing themselves off to world.

The father, Rick Grimes, was a man in his early thirties, he had coal-black hair, strong, yet kind blue eyes, his face was clean shaven and his cloths neatly pressed. There was an air of wryness about him, and if you saw him, you'd guess that he hadn't slept in a couple of days, and you'd be right, he hadn't.

Ever since the divorce had been finalized, he hadn't been able to sleep worth a damn. Ironically, it wasn't the fact that he had just separated from his wife that caused his lack of sleep, it was the fact that there were so many other things that had been plaguing his mind, he was worried about how the divorce would affect his son, he was worried about starting his new job in the city of Atlanta as a detective, he was worried about living in the city! He was born and raised in the small town of Kings County, how the hell was he going to adjust to the city?

The son, Carl Grimes, a young pre-teen, he wasn't a kid anymore, but he wasn't quite yet a teen either. He had a mop of brown, messy hair sitting on his head, his eyes were a strong blue, matching his father's, but unlike his father he wasn't dressed as neatly, his cloths hung on him in a way that just screamed "Messy" and "damn it, I just want to go back to sleep."

The boy's mind wasn't that concerned with the things his father was worrying about, in fact, his mind wasn't really on anything at all. Not his parents divorce, his dad's promotion, leaving Kings County to live in Atlanta, none of that. His mind was too preoccupied with staring out the window, watching the familiar scenery he had grown up with, slowly turn into new and unknown, trees were slowing being replaced with sidewalks and skyscrapers. It was strange, he really didn't have an opinion on moving to the city of Atlanta, when he was a kid, he had always dreamed of living in the big city, breaking away from his hometown and making a name for himself. Now what that name would be, he wasn't too sure of. Some days he thought about being a rock star, other days a business man, maybe a skateboarder, but then he just thought he'd follow in his father's footsteps and become a cop. But none of those dreams came to mind at the moment, mostly because he never thought he'd be living in the city till he finished high school...or college.

So the Grimes men continued their journey in silence, it wasn't until they finally got to the police department in Atlanta that the two even so much as uttered a word.

"Looks big." Carl said, looking out the passenger side window at the imposing building.

Rick nodded in agreement. "Yeah...yeah it does."

Rick sighed.

Carl sighed.

They really didn't know what to say to the other, things had been pretty awkward to lately, they just needed a distraction, something, anything!

"Hey what's up Grimes boys!" A man yelled smacking the hood of their car.

The Grimes men jumped out of their seat, they both looked out the window to see Shane walsh, holding onto the car for support and laughing his ass off.

"You had to see your faces!" He laughed even harder, holding his ribs. "It was priceless!"

Rick smiled from the driver's seat, happy to see his childhood, and still best friend, Carl had already thrown open the car door and ran to hug Shane.

Shane grabbed Carl, and brought the kid into what he called a _man hug_, "Hey Buddy, took ya guys long enough to get here." he placed the per-teen down, and ruffled his shaggy hair. "Damn, Rick, boy's growing like a weed."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Rick replied laughing, joining his son and best friend. "He keeps growing like this, I'm gonna have to get another promotion just to cloths him."

"Still standing right here guys." Carl said, playfully glaring at his father and uncle.

The two adults shared a small laugh, and Carl smiled seeing his dad actually look happy about something. Shane always seemed to be able to lighten any mood, it was one of the many reasons the Grimes men were happy to have him in their lives.

Shane slowly stopped laughing, he looked towards the police station then back at Rick, he now had his cop face on, "So, you ready, Detective Grimes?" He said, with a small cocky smile on his face. "Captain's been waiting for ya."

"Just me?" Rick asked, raising an eyebrow Shane's way.

Shane held his hands up in not guilty way. "I already spoke with him, but he told me not to say a damn word bout anything till he speaks with you."

Sighing Rick looked down at Carl, then back to Shane. "Think you can take him to the new apartment for me?

"Sure, no problem." Shane said with a nod. "Pretty hungry anyway, might make my self a snack while I'm there."

"Just don't eat my eat of house and home again, Shane." Rick replied remembering what happened last time Shane was hungry and near his fridge. It never stopped to amaze him how his friend could eat like an obese cow, and still not look the part.

"Man you live in an apartment now! Ain't no house no more!" Shane shot back as Rick tossed him the keys to his car, he then hoped in it, and waited for Rick to say his goodbyes to his son.

Carl stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking at his father with a small smile. "Don't worry dad, todays your big day. I'll be fine with Uncle Shane.

"Yeah I know, but..." Damn he wasn't good with his words these days. "Today is your big day too, first day in the city."

"I promise I won't explore the city without you," Carl held up his hands in not guilty way, copying what Shane had just done. "I'll just wait at the apartment and that's it." Truthful he was kind of exited to be able to stay alone for once, in Kings County, his mom always told him to stay in the house or in her sight, now he was free to do what he wanted.

"You know, Shane's coming right back here right?"

"Yeah, so?"

He noticing his dad give him the 'I'm sorry look' he then said "Yeah...about waiting in the apartment...alone."

"Oh, Come on dad, really?" Carl asked paling slightly. "I'm twelve, I'm old enough to stay on my own without a babysitter!"

"Don't think of it as a babysitter, Carl." Rick said, trying to make his son feel better. "Think of it as you two looking out for each other."

Sighing, Carl said a half-hearted goodbye to his dad, he loved him, he really did, but he really wished he'd stop looking at him as a kid. Getting into the car, he noticed Shane looking at him apologetically, the man ruffled his hair again, then took off down the street.

Watching as his best friend and son sped away, Rick could only pray he made the right choice on accepting this promotion in the city.

* * *

_**Grimes Apartment, 3:00 PM**_

Shane threw open the door to the Grimes apartment, strolling in like he owned the place, Carl followed soon after, laughing at his Uncle's antics.

Truth is, Shane wasn't technically his uncle, him and his dad had just known each other since they were old enough to walk, and Shane had known him since the day he was born, he was even his god father, so he was as close as an uncle as he was going to get, well besides his mom's brother, but he barely ever saw him.

Shane came out of the kitchen with a large sandwich in his hand, and Carl silently questioned how he had been able to make it in only two minutes flat. He also hoped there was still some food left in the fridge. "Alright buddy, I gotta meet ya dad back at the station. Your little babysitter will be here soon."

"Come on, Shane!" Carl pleaded "Do I really need a babysitter? Can't I just ya know, stay on my own."

"Ay man, your dad's orders, not mine." Shane said finished his sandwich in one giant gulp, Carl wasn't even sure if the man took a bite out of the damn thing.

A light knock on the door caught their attention, Shane smiled at Carl, but he just sighed and plopped himself down on a nearby leather coach.

Shane opened up the door, and came face to face with Carl's babysitter, smiling he said "Hey, little man, you ain't gonna say hello?"

Rolling his eyes, Carl jumped up off the coach, he made his way over to the door, ready to give an empty hello then hide in his room till his dad got home, but when he actually saw his babysitter, he stopped dead in his tracks.

His babysitter had to have been only two years older than him, she was a young, pretty girl, with golden blonde hair wrapped in a loose pony tail, she had gentle blue eyes and a perky face. She gave him a warm, bright smile, she then said "Hi, my names Beth Greene. Guess we're looking out for each other now."

Suddenly, Carl thought that having someone to look after him wouldn't be _too_ bad.

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**Author's Notes: **_Well there is the first chapter, and the next one will be up soon. I'm just really happy I get to write Shane in a fic, without having to redeem him somehow, haha no sleeping with best friend's wife here. If you're wondering why I broke Rick and Lori up for this AU, it's not because I wanted Rick/Michonne hook up, I just felt that if Rick had never been put into a coma and the world never ended, their marriage might not of lasted as long as it do, I also did want a reason to make Rick want to move away from Kings County. If ya have Any **questions, suggestions, or feedback**, just ask, hope ya enjoyed the first chapter, **please review**!_

_Till next time_

_~Solareon_


	2. Promise

**Author's Notes: **_To everyone that reviewed the last story, you guys freaking rock! I had always wanted to write an AU story about the characters, I just never thought it'd do well. I also wanted to explore what these complex characters would of been like if the world had never ended. I'm just hoping I can do them all justice._

_Anyway, here's the next chapter!_

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Chapter 2: Promise

**Atlanta Police Department, 3:30 PM**

When Rick had first joined the police force out in Kings County, he had always thought things would have been different from would they turned out to be. When he was younger he thought being a cop meant being involved in all the challenging high-profile cases, working with the best trained police officers, rising through the ranks fast and never having a dull day.

So he took a leap of faith on his dreams, and became a cop, thinking the experience would be just like he had dreamed it up to be. As it turned out, the reality of being a cop and _his_ dreams of being a cop, were two very different things.

Most of his police work wasn't really that challenging, it was more cut and dry, most of the crimes he dealt with never really needed any solving done in the first place, they just needed an officer there to either help prevent a situation from turning into a worse crime or clean up after it.

It would always be the same cases everyday; the domestic disturbance case; couples or people arguing or fighting, till the cops got called and had to break it up, the petty drug case, that only ended up wasting tax payer money, and maybe the occasional robbery, but living in a small town meant that the robber was usually someone the entire town knew, and it'd only take a week or so to actually catch them. Everything turned in to a routine, and eventually he just got use to it.

Then came the day that changed Rick's life as a police officer forever.

Him and Shane had gotten an APP over their squad car radio from a neighboring county about two armed suspects involved in a high-speed chase heading in to Kings County. When the radio hadn't said though was that there was more than just two suspects, there was actually four.

That wrong information would coast the lives of four other officers, and it had almost coasted Rick his life as well, if it hadn't been for Shane pulling him out-of-the-way from an oncoming bullet, who knows what might of happened to him. In the end, after the fire fight was over, him and Shane had been last men standing.

Everything had changed after that day.

Kings County had mourned the last of four of their officers, but hailed Rick and Shane as heroes. They were in news paper, they were on TV, they were on the internet, everyone wanted to know their story.

Things were different at home for Rick though, Lori and him hadn't been doing too good before the shooting, and it seemed the shoot out only made things worse, it got to the point where they went from fighting about everything, till they just stopped speaking to each.

Then one day he came home and found Lori waiting for him with her bags packed, she leaving, going stay with her family in Kentucky.

He really wasn't sure what happened after that. There had been a lot crying, yelling, screaming, insults traded back and forth, it was almost like every fight they had ever gone through had been brought back up to the surface. Finally the fighting had gotten so bad, that Rick had ben the one to suggest that maybe they should just get a divorce.

Everything after that was just going with the motions of being a hero cop who was getting divorced from his from his wife. Then out of the blue, another surprise had come his way, in the form of a promotion and transfer no less.

It turned out the suspects Shane and him had busted had been some high-profile criminals wanted by the FBI, of and since the two of them had been the ones to take them down, they were being offered a transfer to work in the city of Atlanta and to be promoted to defective.

It hadn't taken Rick long on making up his mind about Atlanta, for him, moving to Atlanta meant a fresh start for him and for Carl, hoping that maybe living in the big would keep his mind off his parents getting a divorce. Shane had taken the promotion and transfer without a second thought in his mind, saying that since he was Rick's partner, they were stuck together till the end.

So, with nothing left to lose, he packed up everything he could, sold the family's house, signed a lease for a new apartment in the city, which of course Shane got an apartment right next to his, and moved out of Kings County with his son and best frien. And well, the rest is history.

As Rick continued to think about the past, he wandered aimlessly around the Atlanta police department, looking for the Captain's office to his squad, as he turned down a hallway, that he could have sworn he had passed before, he was stopped by a woman.

The woman was wearing a black and red pantsuit, she had ebony skin, with a blemish free complexion, her long, dark dreadlocks were wrapped in a tight pony-tail, her face was almost unreadable, masked with an expression that he just couldn't place.

"You look lost." She said, staring at him with sharp, calculating, onyx eyes.

Rick sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, almost feeling intimidated by the woman's stare. "What makes you think I'm lost?"

There was amusement in the woman's eyes, but her expression still didn't change. "Because you've walking around this station in circles for the last twenty minutes."

Rick wasn't sure what surprised him more; the fact that he had been going in circles, or that this woman had apparently been watching him. "And you watched me walk around in circles for that long?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders, then said. "It's my job to know who people are and what they're."

"Well, I don't know what your job is." Rick shot back, staring back at the woman.

"If I said I was the captain of police, would you believe?" She asked, stepping forward, placing a hand on her hip.

Rick studied the woman, her cloths didn't say anything about rank at all, and something about the presence she gave off didn't say she was an average cop, at least not the type of cop that he had met in his life.

"No." He finally said, still looking into the woman's eyes.

The corners of the woman's lips twitched up, "Very good, detective Grimes."

"How do you know my name?" Rick asked, confusion displayed on his face.

The woman pulled a business card, she then walked forward and placed it in Rick's hand, she then got close to his ear and whispered. "Like I said, it's my job to know who people are."

Wordlessly, the woman backed away from him, then disappeared down a hallway, with a smug grin on her face.

Rick stood frozen in place, wondering what the hell had just happened. After a moment his brain had succeeding in rebooting itself, shaking his head, he looked down at the business card the woman had just given him, hoping to get some answers.

Look down at the card, he learned that her name was Michonne, but what he also found out was that right under her name read 'Internal Affairs'

Rick looked up from the card, even more confused that he had just been. Why in the world did a woman from Internal Affairs just play mind games with him.

Sighing, he placed the card in his wallet, "This is gonna be a long day._" _Rick said to himself, as he continued his search for the Captain's office.

After getting lost about half a dozen times, Rick finally found his Captain's office door. He took a deep breath, trying to shake off the nerves he was still feeling from speaking with that woman. Deciding it was now or never, he lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Yelled a voice from the other side.

Taking another deep breath, Rick opened the door.

Sitting at a mahogany desk, was his Captain and new commander, he was kind looking gentleman, with balding white hair, maybe in his early or mid 60's, there was a strong sense of honor justice about him, at least that's what Rick felt looking at the man.

Holding up a phone to his ear, the man mouthed one minute to Rick, he then said. "Alright, Harrison, send the girls my love." He then hung up the phone and outstretched his hand to Rick. "Afternoon, son. I'm Captain Dale Horvath."

Rick shook hand. "Detective Ri-"

"I know your name, son." Dale said cutting him off. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Detective Rick Grimes, have a seat." He gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk and Rick sat down.

The Captain reached into his desk and pulled out a vanilla colored folder and placed it on the desk, "So, Detective Grimes, hows your boy liking the city?"

Rick went to answer, but paused for a moment, he hadn't even say he had a son yet. He gave Dale a questioning look, wondering if he was going to have another situation like he had just been through with the woman from internal affairs.

God he hoped not.

Dale then started to chuckle, smacking the desk lightly. "Don't worry, Detective Grimes, I'm just having some fun." He said, reading the worry on Rick's face. "Your partner, Shane told me about your son. Said something about hoping to scaring the daylights out of you. How did that go by the way?"

"I almost thought I was gonna get shot." He replied.

"Well we wouldn't want that happening again." Dale said, looking at him dead in the eyes, smile doping from his face.

"Sir?"

The captain's smiled returned and he started laughing again. "I'm sorry, son. I just couldn't resist trying out my Michonne impression. I'm guessing you've already met her."

"How did you know about that?" Now Rick was really confused.

Dale's smile grew, "When you entered my office, you had a lost look in your eyes; Michonne can have that effect on people.

Pulling out the business card the woman gave him, Rick stared at it for a moment, questioning again what the woman had wanted from him.

"Sir, am I in trouble?" Rick asked holding up the card.

Dale shook his head "No, son. She's just probably got some questions rolling around in her head. And I have my own questions as well."

"And what are questions do you have, sir?"

"I just want to know what kind of man you are."

"What kind of man, sir?" Rick repeated, confused at the question."

Sighing, Dale stood, he walked over to his office window overlooking the city, and for that moment, he looked much older than he actually was, he rubbed his eyes lightly, trying to wash away the tired, old images of the past the began to play in his vision as he stared out at the city he had sworn to protect and serve.

"I've seen a lot of stuff, detective Grimes. " He said with a heavy tone, "I've seen a lot bad things happen to good people, and sometimes there is no happy ending after, no justice. I've had to watch as the men and woman under my command lost faith in this city, lost faith in this department, and finally, lost faith in themselves."

Dale stopped for second, mentally counting how many officers had lost themselves under his command, then giving a bitter, short laugh he remembered that it didn't if it was only 1 or 100, they were still souls he hadn't been able to save.

"This isn't like Kings County, son." The older man said, turning away from the window to look at Rick. "You're going to see some terrible things, and like it or not, you will take this job home with you."

For the second time today, Rick was questioning if moving to the city had been the best idea. He looked at his new command, doubt clearly visible on his face. "I don't want this to change me." He said truthfully.

"It will." Dale said sighing, somberly, he put a hand on Rick's shoulder. "It always does."

"Then...then how do I not let it break me?"

A faint smile returned to Dale's face. "Your son." He answered.

"My son?" Rick repeated.

Dale nodded, walking back over to his desk and sitting down. "The only thing that makes this job, is the support and love from your family and friends." He said sincerely. "No one can make it alone in this world."

Listening to the old captain speak, started to make the doubt in Rick's mind fade away and determination take its place.

"You just have to remember, son. When the world goes, don't let it take you down with it."

"I won't, sir. I promise." Rick said honestly.

Dale's smile returned. "I hope so, son. I hope so."

* * *

**Grimes Apartment, 8: 00 PM**

"You really grew up on a farm?" Carl asked Beth.

"You bet." The girl answered proudly, smiling brightly at him.

The two of them were sitting upside down on a leather coach in the living room, trading stories about themselves back and forth. They had been talking for hours and had no plans of stopping soon.

When Carl first heard that he would be stuck with a babysitter while waiting for his dad to get off of work, he had thought the worst. Memories of the boring, stuck up babysitters he use to be forced to deal with in Kings county played in his mind, and he feared that would be the same type of person he was going to be stuck with again. But after meeting Beth Greene, Carl knew that he had been so wrong.

She told him about herself, how she had moved in to the city recently like him, she was living with her older sister only a couple blocks away from his apartment, she volunteered at an animal hospital after school and during the summers, and she loved to sing, which he personally thought was pretty cool since he had never met a singer before.

Then he talked about himself, he told her how he had moved to the city because of his dad's promotion, what life was like back in Kings County, how his uncle Shane would never be allowed un-supervized near thanksgiving dinner again. And, She listened to every world he said, and it felt actually being able to talk to someone new.

The girl was probably everything he expected his babysitter _not to be_; she was fun, easy-going, and pretty...not that he cared about that sort of thing...

"There are farms in the city?" Carl silently hoped his uncle Shane didn't find out, the man had already been kicked off a farm before after breaking into a burn and starting a fight with a roster and a cow then demanding he should be able to buy them and eat them.

"No silly, outside of Atlanta." Beth laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe you can see it one day, we have lots of animals; goats, chickens, rosters, cows."

Carl made a mental note to never tell his uncle about the farm.

Sliding off the coach, Beth got close to Carl's face and poked him in the forehead "Now Mr. Grimes, since we've been talking for so long, you have to make me a promise."

"Um wh-what kind of promise?" Carl asked, blushing at how close Beth's face was to his.

Beth looked him in the eyes sternly and held out her pinky to him. "A pinky promise."

"Aren't we a little old for that?" He asked, trying to remember the last time he had to make a pinky promise.

"You're twelve!" Beth said to him.

"Hey, I'll be thirteen soon!" Carl shot back, he then said. "Aren't _you_ a little old for that?"

Beth lightly bopped Carl on head and stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "I'm only fifteen, jerk!"

"Fine, whats the promise?" He asked, extending his pinky to her.

Smiling, Beth entwined their pinky fingers. "It's a promise to always be friends, no matter what."

"You and me...we're friends now?" Carl asked, surprised that he had made a friend his first day in Atlanta.

Beth looked down, blushing a little. "I really don't know many people here, you'd actually be my first friend in Atlanta."

"You'd be mine too." Carl admitted truthfully.

Feeling less embarrassed, Beth looked back up at Carl, her smile had grown ear to ear and he couldn't help but grin sheepishly back at her. She just seemed to have that effect on him.

"So I guess this makes us friends, right?" He asked as they shook hands with their pinkies.

Carl's only answer was a wink and her bopping him again on the forehead.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: _Well, this couldn't get anymore AU then it already is haha. I know that police promotions don't work out the way I wrote it, at least I hope they don't! Anyway, Thanks for reading, Please **Review** and if you have any **questions**, **suggestions**, or **feedback,** I'd love to hear them._

_Seeya Soon._

_~Solareon_


	3. Two and Half Men

_**Author's Note**: Sorry for the long wait for this update, I had just moved and it took up a lot of my time. Thanks to all the people who reviewed the last chapters, I'm happy and surprised this story is actually liked, I thought it would tank after the first chapter, well on with the show! _

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Chapter 3: Two and Half Men

_**Atlantic city Police Department, 11:37PM**_

Closing the door behind him, Rick walked out of the Captain's office, rubbing his tired eyes, he silently wondered how on earth he had spent so much time in there. For a while, him and the captain were discussing the lower points of working in the city of Atlanta, the next, Captain Horvath was asking him a thousand questions about his life; what was Kings County like, how was he adjusting to the city, did his partner Shane really need to eat **ALL **of the donuts in the police station, how was his son adjusting the city.

Rick thought about Carl for a moment, wondering if he was doing alright with the babysitter, sure she had seemed nice enough on the phone, but his son really hated being treated like kid. The sound of someone yelling suddenly, distracted him from his thoughts.

"The hell with all of ya!" A man said in a pissed off, southern accent, he stormed into the police station, walking right through the metal detector, flashing his badge and his middle figure at the officer near it when it started to go off, a blonde woman followed close behind him, she looked like she was trying to calm the man down, but to no avail, the man looked like he was out for blood, and it seemed like nothing was going to stop him.

Rick guessed that the man must have been another detective, he did have a police shield and no one seemed to bat an eyelash at him storming in to the police station like a feral, made man, almost as if it was a regular thing. Another clue to that he must have been a detective, was that his appearance didn't match a normal uniformed cop; his dark chestnut colored hair was as feral looking as he was, he looked somewhat scruffy with hair on his top lip and chin, he wasn't wearing any uniform, just a simple pair of jeans, a faded grey shirt and a leather jacket with angel wings on the back, his badge hung loosely around his neck, like a necklace, which he flashed every time he walked through a metal detector and it went off, along with flipping off anyone he saw as well.

The woman behind the man, who was trailing farther and father away from him, since she was busy apologizing to every person he flipped off, looked frustrated and tired, she had a more professional way about her, unlike the man she was with, she was dressed in a dark navy blue pantsuit, her golden locks were tied back in a pony tail, with not a hair out-of-place. He wasn't sure if she was a cop or not, every time she walked through the metal detector after the man, if beeped just as loud as when he walked through, but unlike him, she didn't bother flashing any badge, just something he couldn't make out from where he was.

The man stomped over to Captain's Horvath's office, he stared at the door for a moment, the anger on his face vanished, replaced with an unreadable mask, then as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, and his rage returned full throttle. He fixed a hard glare at Rick, snorting at him, he then turned away and swung open the door to the captain's office and slammed it behind him when he stormed in.

"Ay, old man, ya got some explaining to do!" Rick heard the man say through the door.

The blonde woman, who had followed the man all through the station, sighed as she also heard what the man said through the door. She threw open the door, and just like the man before, slammed it behind her. "God damn it, Dixon, Calm down!" He heard the woman yell through the door.

"What the hell going on in there, man?" Shane asked, walking up to Rick, munching on a slice of pizza.

Shaking his head, Rick said. "I don't even wanna know, brother. I'm too tired for this." He rubbed at his tired eyes again, the day had really beaten the hell out of him, all he wanted to do was go home to Carl, get something to eat, then pass out in his bed. Looking back at his friend, he noticed Shane's slice of pizza. "Shane, where did you get that from?

Taking another bite of his pizza, Shane motioned to his desk with his head.

Standing by Shane desk was a young Asian man, holding a box of pizza and looking more miserable than any person Rick had ever seen in his life. The young man looked at Rick with pleading eyes then said. "Just let me go, man! He keeps ordering pizza, dude. How does one person he eat that much food and not die?! He's like a freaking snorlax!"

Whatever a Snorlax was, Rick didn't want to know, he looked at his partner for an explanation, but the man didn't even bother trying to look innocent.

"I ain't even sorry." Shane said, chuckling evilly as he finished his slice of pizza.

Shaking his head, Rick walked over to the young man, paid him for the pizza then freed him from his lunatic friend's food obsessed grasp. The man thanked Rick, then ran out of the station faster than Carl at a barbershop.

"Ay, come on, man, I was just getting started." Shane says as he watches the man run away.

"Brother, I'm tired, let's just get out of here." Rick said as he made his way out of the station, Shane followed right behind him.

As they started to get close to the exit, Shane started humming the theme to Law & Order while they walked. Rick tried to ignore him, but Shane kept humming it louder and louder, nudging him in the sides playfully with each step, eventually, he just stopped ignoring him and joined his friend in humming the tune.

The two man walked out of the police department, humming the theme to Law & Order, laughing and smiling like only two life long jackass friends could.

* * *

_**Grimes Apartment, 12:00AM**_

Rick slowly and quietly opened the door to his apartment and walked in, Shane training close behind. When they got fully into the apartment they saw a sight that made both of them grin from ear to ear.

Carl and Beth were fast asleep on the living room couch, cuddled up close together, with a blanket draped over both of them and snoring loudly. The babysitter's head was resting on Carl's own head, they were both clutching the TV remote, almost like they had fallen asleep while fighting for control of it.

Shane chuckled softly at the sight, finding it amusing as all hell. He them walked over to his friend and patted him on the shoulder. "Ay, man, I'm turning in, tell the little man I'll see him in the morning."

"Yeah, see ya in the morning." Rick said quietly, still grinning. "Oh, and Shane,"

"Yeah, brother?"

"Thanks for being there today." Rick says, his voice full of gratitude.

"Ay, man, no problem." Shane gives Rick a brotherly hug, then makes his way out of the apartment, but not before snapping a quick picture of Carl and his babysitter with his phone, he winks at Rick, then closes the door behind him.

Chuckling from his friends antics, Rick walked over to Beth and lightly shook her awake.

"For the thousand time Carl, we're not playing Portal." She mumbled sleepily. Waking up more, she noticed that it wasn't Carl she was talking to, but his father, the girl then blushed, she also noticed she was sleeping on top of his son, and her blush deepened. "Um, Sorry for falling asleep Mr. Grimes, we just, um, Carl that is, I um, he-"

Holding up a hand to stop the girl's stuttering, Rick laughed and said. "Don't worry about it, it's late, I got caught up at the station anyway."

Still red as a tomato, the girl carefully got off of Carl and the couch, she smoothed out her clothes and started to gather her things, all the while casting shy glances at the chuckling Rick and the sleeping Carl. Finally after what felt like forever, she gathered all of her belongings and walked over to the door.

"So, was he a handful?" Rick said, amusement clear in his voice as he looked at his sleeping son.

Smiling to herself, Beth said. "It was an adventure, I think I made a new friend." The girl looked over Rick's shoulder at Carl and her smile grew, she had only spent a couple of hours with the younger boy, but she felt that they were already becoming close friends.

"Well, that's good to hear." Rick takes out of his wallet and pays Beth her fee for the night, he only owed the girl sixty dollars for watching over Carl, but he snuck in an extra forty, making it an even hundred. It was his way of giving the girl a bonus for getting along with his son so well.

"Thank you kindly, Mr. Grimes." Beth says, putting the money away in her pocket, "Do you think you'll need me again anytime soon?"

It was then that Rick realized that he actually hadn't thought about needing someone to watch over Carl, now that he was working in Atlanta there was the unspoken threat of not being able to come home early to his son, which really wasn't new since it had happened a lot in Kings County, working late nights, coming home after midnight was an almost everyday thing back there, but things were different now, Lori wasn't there anymore to looking after Carl...to look after him...

Letting out a deep sigh, Rick rubbed at his tired eyes, he mentally noted that he was doing that more and more lately, he tried to get his mind away from Lori, he just couldn't deal with those thoughts at the moment.

"You think you could make this a regular thing?" Rick asked Beth, "I mean, when you can make it here, that would be great. Carl really doesn't need someone over his shoulder anymore, I just feel better knowing he's got someone looking out for him that's all."

Beth's eye's brightened a little bit, but she tried her best to hide it. "Sure, Mr. Grimes, I'd love to!"

"Thanks, Beth, you're a life saver." Rick says relived.

Beaming at Rick's praise, she begins to walk out of the apartment, but stops before she gets out the door. She looks back at him, smiling sheepishly and playing with her figures. "I forget to say goodbye to Carl, you think I could..."

"Go right ahead." Rick said chuckling again, making Beth blush.

Walking over to the couch Carl was sleeping on, Beth crouched down so she was close to him, "Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other, jerk." She says softly, "Tonight was fun, I'm...I'm glad I met...I hope we can..." The girls sighs, giving up on what she was going to say. "Just thanks for being my first friend out here, you're a good kid."

Beth softly bops Carl on the head with her fist, not enough to wake him, just enough to make him stir a little, he then mumbles in his sleep. "For the thousand time, Beth, we're not watching Love Actually, it boring..." he then goes back to snoring.

"Jerk." Beth muttered, still smiling at Carl. She stands up from the couch and walks back towards the door, Rick's chuckling has turned into full-blown silent laughter, and it takes all the will power the young girl has not to turn red again.

"So, we'll see you again monday, Beth?" Rick said regaining his composure and opening the door for the girl.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Mr. Grimes" Beth answers.

They exchange good-nights and Rick watches her leave, only closing the door after he watches her jump into a Taxi she had flagged down.

Rick yawns tiredly, exhaustion finally taking full control of his body, he walks over to the coach and picks up Carl, who quickly wraps his arms around his father neck as he carries him, he walks into the main bedroom and places his son on the bed, too tired to even walk across the hallway to Carl's own room. He then lays right next to his son on the bed.

"How was work, dad?" Carl mumbles, eyes still closed.

"It was new, I'll can tell you that." Rick answers, eyes getting heavier.

Carl moves closer to his dad, resting his head on his chest. "Dad?"

"Yeah, Carl?" Rick asks as he wraps his arms around his son.

"I'm happy I'm here with you." Carl says, yawning, he then falls back asleep.

Rick smiles to himself, and holds his son closer. "I'm happy you're here with me too."He says back to his sleeping son, he then closes his eyes, falling asleep right then and there, with his son in his arms and a content smile on his face.

* * *

_**Grimes Apartment, 6:43AM**_

The door to the Grime's apartment was thrown open with a loud bang, Shane stomped into the apartment and then hollered loudly, "WHERE'S MY BREAKFAST, BITCHES!"

Eyes snapping open, Rick groaned loudly, regretting that he had given Shane a spare key to his apartment.

Carl joined his father in groaning in misery at his uncle for waking them up, he tried to pick himself out of bed, but ended up rolling off of it and slamming to the floor, instead of trying to get up, the pre-teen just laid there, closing his eyes again and snoring loudly.

"We need a guard dog." Rick mumbles getting out of bed.

"Wouldn't stop me from getting in here, bitches love me!" Shane shouts from the kitchen, already rummaging through the fridge.

"Dad," Carl mutters from the floor, waking again. "Uncle Shane needs mental help."

Rick picks up his son from the floor and carries him into the kitchen, after sitting him down at the table, Carl puts his head down on it and closes his eyes.

"Man, you guys look like hell." Shane said. He finds some eggs out of the fridge, takes a skillet out of a cabinet and starts to cook up some breakfast. "How many eggs you, want little man?"

"I want a purple dragon." Carl mumbles tiredly.

"Two it is then." Shane cracks two eggs in skillet. "How bout you, man, eggs?"

Mumbling a yes, Rick sits across from his son and puts his head on the table too. Even though they had slept all night, something about being awake the entire day up in the city had just worn them out. If they tried, he bet him and Carl could sleep another eight hours, he had no clue how Shane was so full of energy.

Oh, yeah, that's right, Shane barley ever needed sleep. As long as the man had food, he was practically a walking battery.

Ten minutes later, the two and half men were sitting at the table with their breakfast, Carl had scrambled eggs and juice, Rick had eggs over easy with coffee, and Shane had two omelets on his plate and coffee as well.

"So whats the plan for today, boys." Shane says between bites.

Rick and Carl look at each other, then shrug. They really hadn't thought about any plan today, Rick had the day off, and Carl didn't have any school, so...they were kinda lost on what to do.

"Oh, come on, really? We're city men now!" Shane shouts, he jumps up from his seat and downs his coffee in one large gulp. "We gotta take this city by the horns, and make it are woman!" He says thrusting his hips forward.

Carl starts laughing, food falling out of his full mouth, but Rick just face palms himself. "Brother, how many times I gotta tell you; no making disturbing metaphors at the breakfast table."

Shane laughs and sits back down. "Ya know I'm right man, let's go out and explore. Ya said ya wanted."

"Come on, dad, let's do it!" Carl said, jumping out of his seat.

Rick looks from Shane's smug grin to Carl's hopeful, puppy dog stare, he then throws his hands up and sighs, "Alright lets do it,"

"Yes!" Carl and Shane say at the same time, they hi-fived each other, then Carl ran into his room to get changed, leaving the two adults at the table.

Shane stood up from the table, taking the dishes over with him to the sink, he turned on the water and started to wash them, he thought he might as well since he was the one to make the mess.

"Ay, man, ya best be changing to too, ya look like ya had a bad one night stand with that old guy from Law & Order." Shane say to Rick, taking notice of his messy appearance.

"Still on that whole L&W vibe, brother?" Rick asks shaking his head. He did agree with Shane though, he didn't even bother changing before he went to bed last night, he just hit the mattress and was out cold.

Shrugging, while he continued to scrub the dishes, Shane said. "Ay man, we're cops in the city now, as far as I'm concerned, we're living in Law & Order: Atlanta city justice" He held up the soap bottle as a gun and to fired soap bullets at the dirt dishes.

Laughing and yawning at the same time, Rick put a hand on his best friends shoulder. "Brother, you keep an eye on those dirty dishes, I'm gonna go change, and try not to use excessive force, alright? He joked.

"Nah, man, these guys are pretty much dead already!" Shane sprayed more soap on the dishes to emphasize his point.

Rick just shook his hand, he began walking out of the kitchen, but Shane's voice stopped him mid-step.

Shane had turned off the water and had stopped playing with the dishes, he was now leaning against the sink, his arms behind his back, Rick noticed that his eyes had lost all amusement and humor in them, he nodded at Rick then gave him a serous look, "Do me favor brother, when ya change, leave that ring on here."

Looking down at his hand, Rick eyed his wedding ring, he didn't he even know he still had it on. "I actually forget I still had this." He says quietly, more to himself than Shane."

"Get rid of it, man." Shane demands gently. "It ain't gonna do you no good anymore."

Rick sighs, feeling even more tired than he had been the night before. "Its habit, guess I'm just not good and letting things go."

Walking over to his best friend, Shane puts a hand on his shoulder, looking him directly in the eyes. "Ya gotta let it go, brother."

"What if it doesn't wanna let go me?" Rick asks, feeling unsure of parting with something that had been with him for the last thirteen years. "How can I just forget everything, Shane?" He asks, his voice lost and confused. "Just pretend like giant pat of my life never happened, that it was all a mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake, Rick." Shane says, "You two made the greatest little boy in the world, who's gonna grow up to be a good man like his father. I mean, he might be a little more smooth and cool, he does got his uncle Shane to show him the ropes." He then does a Elvis pose, nodding his head and saying "Thank you, thank you very much!"

Rick's couldn't hold back his grin, "Ya really know how to kill a moment don't you, man?"

"Ya damn right, baby" Shane says doing his best Elvis impersonation.

He then drops the act, looking back at Rick seriously. "Listen man, you ain't gotta forget everything, ya just gotta move on, I know it hurts, but baby-steps, brother, baby-steps."

"Yeah, you're right." Rick agreed, nodding his head.

"Come on, go change." Shane orders patting Rick on the back. "Lets go exploring this damn fine city."

* * *

Shane, Rick, and Carl cruised down the street in Shane's car, they had decided to just drive through the city, sight-seeing mostly, they were trying to get the lay of the land and familiarize themselves with the city.

"So how'd your night go, little man?" Shane asks, glancing at Carl through the review mirror, Rick grins from the passenger seat, but doesn't say a word.

Carl shrugs, a faint red tint reaching his cheeks, but he makes it his mission to keep looking out the back seat window at the city. "It was alright."

Shane grins mischievously, "And did ya get along with ya babysitter alright?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

"She was ok...for a girl I guess." Carl says sheepishly, turning a dark shade of red, resembling the Crimson red mustang they were driving in.

"Mmmmmmmmnnnnnn, Reverend Shane thinks that the boy might of just discovered girls" Shane teases, elbowing Rick in sides and smirking ear to ear.

Carl sticks his tongue out at his uncle "I'm not even thirteen yet!"

"Gotta start sometime" Rick chimes in.

"Traitor!" Carl yells, pointing towards his father with a look of betrayal in his eyes

Rick holds up his hands apologetically. "Sorry, son. You don't argue with Reverend Shane."

"Ya damn right!" Shane says. " Now, my children, let's get some grub!"

"Can we get pizza?" Carl asked, happy to change the subject.

"I don't see why not." Rick answers, "Think we're close to any, Shane?"

An evil smile appears on Shane's face. "Oh, I know just the place..."

* * *

_**Rhee's Pizza Parlor, 12:00PM**_

Inside a pizza parlor, a cold chill went down a young man's spine as he stood behind the counter, he had a sickening feeling some thing bad was about to happen.

At that moment, Rick, Carl and Shane entered the pizza parlor, the young man and Shane's eyes instantly met, Shane grinned evilly ear to ear, an evil chuckle emanating from his throat.

"Ay, man!" Shane shouted, loudly. "Ya miss me?"

"Oh, god no!" All the color drained from the young Asian man's face, "How did you, I mean how could you-"

"Man, I'm an officer of the law" Shane said, cutting him off, "I'll find anything!"

Rick stepped forward, looking at the young man, thinking he looked kind of familiar. "Shane, you know this kid?"

"Damn right I do. This is the pizza delivery kid from last night at the station"

Rick face palmed himself, "You brought us all the way here to torture some poor kid for pizza, Shane?"

Just like the night before, Shane didn't even bother to try to act innocent, he just beamed proudly at Rick.

Sighing, Carl ignored the antics of the adults in front of him, he walked over to the counter and placed their order for them. "Can we get a large pizza, half pineapple and half sausage, please?"

"Yeah, sure no problem, kid." The young man said, nodding his head and running into the back to start making the pizza and to get as far away from Shane as possible.

Turning back to his _role models_, Carl watched as they continued to argue about his uncle's sick sense of humor when it came to torturing food service workers, he remembered back in Kings County that Shane had almost been banned thousands of times from any local restaurants in the county, mostly because he loved to mess with the waiters so much...or flirt with the waitress too much and almost always his dad would get blamed as well, just for being with his uncle. He walked back over to them, just hear the ending of their argument.

"And the fire department said they'll never get that smell out of the dinner!" Rick said, almost at the brink of patience.

"Ay, I didn't start the war, but I ended it!" Shane countered.

Carl grabbed both their writs with his smaller hands and started to drag them to a both. "Lets just sit down, dad and uncle Shane, I don't wanna get kicked out of somewhere on are second day in Atlanta."

"He started it." They said in unison.

Carl muttered under his breath. "When did I become the adult here?"

They sat down in the booth, Rick pointed at Shane, ready to warn him to behave himself, but when he raised his right hand, he got distanced by the discoloration of his skin where his wedding ring use to be. He had followed Shane's advice and left it at home, but he now looking at his bare finger, he couldn't help but become lost at the sight of it, something both Shane and Carl picked up on.

Carl put his hand on his father's hand, and Shane did the same with Rick's shoulder. They both offered him kind smiles, Rick looked back at them with mixed emotions, he felt thankful in a way, but he also felt guilty, his son was handling the divorce better than he was, something that worried him a little bit.

"Its alright, dad. Its ok to be sad sometimes." Carl said, speaking more maturely than he looked.

Rick smiled weakly, ruffling his son's hair. "Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the adult here?"

"Ay, man, this kid is a man too, little man, but still a man." Shane offered, also ruffling the pre-teens hair.

"Hey, come on!" Carl batted their hands away, trying to smooth out his already messy hair.

"Carl, its ok if you miss your mom, you can tell me." Rick said, looking down at his son.

Carl said looking down at his hands, putting them in his pockets "I mean I do miss mom in all but," He then looked back up, a bright smile on his face. "But this city is so cool, and I like living with you and Uncle Shane."

"technically I live next door to you." Shane said.

Both Grimes men looked at Shane with a deadpan stare.

"Shane, we've only been in the city for two days now, and you've already claimed the spare bedroom in the apartment as_ the Kingdom of Shane_." Carl said looking up at his uncle.

"So?" Shane says, shrugging.

"Theres a black flag with your picture on it stapled to the door." Rick says. "Ya might as well knock down a wall and just combine to the two places!"

At Rick's mock suggestion, Shane actually starts to think about the idea.

"Don't even think about it, Shane." Rick orders.

Shane sighs, looking defeated. "Alright, alright, you win.

The pizza boy then chooses that time to walk over and drops off the pizza to them, he then quickly disappears from sight before Shane can even smirk his way. Shane then laughs, and Carl laughs right along side him, meanwhile Rick shakes his head at the two, not knowing which one was less mature.

The two and half men then eat their food, they talk about how their day was yesterday; Shane and Rick talk about their new station in Atlanta, saying how they can't wait to show Carl off to their Captain, Carl talks about how his day went with Beth, resisting the urge to flip his uncle and dad off when they start lightly teasing him about her.

Finally they finish their food, Shane leaves a generous tip and takes Carl to wait in the car while Rick pays the bill.

Rick goes to the counter to pay for the pizza, only to find that that the young man who took their order was nowhere in sight, he rings the bell on the counter, hoping to get someones attention so he can pay and leave. When no one comes, he rings it again, and again and just when he was about to do it a third time, he hears a laugh from behind him.

"Well, detective Grimes, its a small world isn't it?"

Turning around, Rick is shocked to come face to face with no other than the Internal affairs officer he had met yesterday. What was her name? Michelle, no Michonne, Michonne was her name.

"Guess so." Rick replies, still stunned at running into her, "Guess that makes this city even smaller."

The corners of Michonne's lips turn into a smirk, "You would be surprised how easy it is to run into people in this city.

"Trust me, I am surprised." Rick says regaining his composure.

"You don't look that happy to see me, Detective." Michonne says, she steps closer to Rick, the same predatory like look still on her face from yesterday, "You seem intimidated by me.

Rick chuckles nervously, "I've just never talked with an Internal Affairs officer, never thought I'd ever have to.

"And you won't" Michonne offers, staring at him, her predatory smile fading into an unreadable mask, it almost seemed to him like she was testing him, trying to see what he'd say or do. "My job is dedicated to a different type of cop, Detective.

"And what type is that?" Rick asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Lets hope you never find out, Detective." Michonne replies grimly, a flash of anger appearing on her mask, then it fades just as quickly as it came.

Just when he was about to ask what she was talking about, Carl walked backed into the pizza parlor.

"Dad, uncle Shane wants to know if you're paying the bill or trying to get to third base with the pizza boy. I'm not really sure what that means though." Carl said, scrunching up his face in confusion.

Michonne, who had just heard the entire thing, starts to let out a fit of chuckles, while Rick holds the bridge of his nose and sighs, he really needed to stop leaving his son alone with Shane.

Carl stands in place, even more confused than he was before, looking back and forth between his dad and the woman he was next to. "I'm lost, dad are you trying to get to third base with this lady too?" He asked innocently to his father.

Michonne's laughter stops imminently, her eyes grow to the size of dinner plates, Rick just puts his entire face in his hands and shakes his head. He really, _really _needed to stop leaving Carl alone with Shane, before the poor boy's mind was corrupted.

"Why won't anyone answer me?!" Carl says, even more confused about what was going on. "Dad, why are you trying to get to third base with the pizza boy and this lady, I thought you were just paying the bill? And didn't you say never to play baseball inside?"

It was at that moment Rick decided he was going to kill Shane, he wasn't sure when or how, but he was going to kill him.

"Son, tell Uncle Shane I'll be out soon." Rick said, smiling weakly.

Carl shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, dad. Seeya outside." He then walked, looking even more confused than when he entered.

Looking away from where his son exited, Rick turned back to Michonne, only to see that the woman was fighting a losing battle to keep her laughter inside.

"I think you might want to explain baseball to your son, Detective." She says, small fits of laughter still working their way out of her.

Rick shakes his head again, thinking of all the ways he was going to make Shane pay. "I think I'll leave that to his uncle."

The pizza boy finally appeared again, he looked flustered, but Rick was too far gone at the moment to pay any attention.

"Do you need some help, Ms?" The young man asked, panting slightly.

"My friend called in a delivery, should be under the name Harrison." Michonne said, stepping in front of Rick, lightly bumping his shoulder as she did so.

The young man then disappeared then reapeared with five boxes of pizza in hands, struggling to hold them, he hands them over to Michonne, who takes it with no difficulty, almost as if it weighed nothing.

"I really need to workout." The pizza boy muttered quietly to himself, holding his head low.

"Do you need some help with that?" Rick offered gentlemanly.

Michonne shakes her head politely, "I'll be fine, Detective, I'm a lot stronger than I look." True to her word, she was holding the boxes with no trouble whatsoever.

"So, I'll see you around then." Rick replies, not really knowing what else to say.

"I should be the last person you'd want to see, Detective Grimes." Michonne says coyly. She pays for her the food, then starts to walk out, but she stops as at the door. "That is, in-less you ever feel like playing some baseball." She then wordlessly walks out the door, leaving Rick frozen like a deer in the headlights.

"Dude," The young man says from behind the counter, "I think she wants the d-"

"You people are all insane." Rick said, cutting him off.

* * *

_**Author's Notes**: I'm pretty sure I lost a bit of my mind writing this chapter, then again, I think I lost it years ago! Well, hope this chapter was worth the wait, I'll make sure not to take this long to update again. If ya wondering, yes, the angry cop early in the chapter was Daryl, but bonus points to anyone else who can spot the other characters from The Walking Dead I didn't name. If you have any feedback, good, bad, or just questions, feel free to review! I hope ya review anyway though!_

_Till next time._

_~Solareon_


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